Canadians are buying less expensive food, stocking up on food and even eating less to cope with food prices as inflation soars, according to a new survey.
The survey, conducted by Nanos Research on behalf of CTV News, asked more than 1,000 Canadians if their household used a cost savings option in the last month to react to food prices.
The most common response was to buy less expensive food, with six out of 10 Canadians saying they did in the last 30 days.
More than a quarter of Canadians say they haven’t changed their eating habits at all.
But another quarter said they stocked up on food that month, and 17% of Canadians surveyed said they were eating less food due to food prices.
Six percent of respondents said they are actively using coupons or looking for discounted items.
The remaining four options were chosen by one percent of the participants: buy less food, go to a food bank, use up what they already have, or garden and get food.
WOMEN DISAPPOINTED WHEN BUYING CHANGED FOOD
When responses were split between men and women, women were more likely to have changed their food buying behavior than men.
About 34% of men reported no change in their eating habits, compared with 23% of women. Similarly, 64% of women said they buy food cheaper compared to about 57% of men who said the same.
However, when the question was not related to food purchases, responses from men and women were similar, with 23% of men saying they stocked up on food compared to 26% of women, and 17 % of men and women both said they ate less food in the past 30 days.
CHILDREN CAN CHANGE THEIR FOOD Habits
Younger Canadians were also more likely to change their behavior in the past 30 days due to food prices.
More than 70% of those aged 18-34 said they buy cheaper food, compared with 65% of those aged 35-54 and about 51% among those 55 and older.
The same trend was reversed when participants were asked if they had done anything to change their food buying habits, with only 20% of 18- to 34-year-olds choosing this option compared with 24. .7% of the 35-54- elderly and 37% of those 55 and older.
Only 13% of adults 55 and older reported that they ate less food in the past 30 days due to food prices, compared with 18.5% among those aged 35 to 54 and 21% of 18-34 age. -age.
ATLANTIC PROVINCE EATING LESS, QUEBEC PREVENTING FOOD
In terms of location, there was a 4% difference between the highest and lowest responses for buyers of cheaper food, with 62% of respondents from Ontario and the Atlantic provinces choosing this option compared to 58% respondents from Quebec.
Quebec also has one of the highest percentages of respondents who say they haven’t changed their eating habits, with around 31% choosing this option.
Overall, respondents from Quebec are generally less likely than other regions to report using various cost-saving options, with 11.5% saying they are currently eating less food. to save money. One exception is food stockpiling, where the percentage of respondents coming from Quebec is highest, at 33%.
People in British Columbia were the least likely to stock up on food, with only 21% choosing this.
British Columbia has the highest percentage of people who say they haven’t changed their eating habits at around 32%.
This survey shows that the Atlantic provinces are likely to be hardest hit by food price inflation, with more participants from these regions using cost-effective options than other regions. other area.
The highest percentage of respondents who said they ate less came from the Maritimes, with more than a fifth of participants from the region choosing this option.
About 29% of respondents from the Atlantic provinces said they were stockpiling food, second only to Quebec.
The Atlantic provinces also had the lowest percentage of people who did not change their food buying habits, at only 21%.
RESEARCH METHODS
Nanos Research is a public opinion research company.
Nanos conducted an online randomized survey between RDD dual-frame phones (land and cellular) and an online randomized survey of 1,084 Canadians, 18 years of age or older, over a period of 30 days October to November 4 as part of the bus survey. Participants were randomly recruited by phone using live agents and conducted an online survey. The sample includes both land and mobile roads across Canada. The results have been statistically tested and weighted for age and sex using the latest Census information and a sample geographically stratified to represent Canada.
Individuals are randomly called by random dialing with up to five callbacks.
The margin of error for this survey was ±3.0 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.
This study was commissioned by CTV News and the study was conducted by Nanos Research.
The numbers may not go up to 100 due to rounding.
